Senior Ecosystem and Partnership Lead - Sandton at Catch

Job Description

• Our client is appointing a Senior Ecosystem and Partnership Lead to be part of the design, build and implementation of an employee share plan management ecosystem across key global markets, with the company positioned at the core.
• This role is responsible for defining what the optimal end-to-end ecosystem looks like in each geography, identifying and selecting best-in-class partners, and structuring commercially sound, scalable partnership agreements.
• The role spans research, strategy, partner origination, commercial negotiation and ongoing ecosystem optimization. It is not a relationship-only role. It is a commercially accountable, execution-driven role requiring experience in complex, multi-party service ecosystems.

Key responsibilities:

• Ecosystem Design & Strategy
• Define the ideal cradle-to-grave employee share plan ecosystem by geography, covering:
• Plan design and advisory
• Legal, tax and regulatory services
• Trustees, brokers, custodians and administrators
• Payroll, HRIS and reporting integrations
• Assess market maturity, regulatory complexity and client demand to determine ecosystem depth and sequencing per region
• Establish the company as the central orchestration layer within each ecosystem

Market & Partner Research

• Conduct research into local and global service providers across each ecosystem layer
• Evaluate partners based on capability, scale, regulatory standing, commercial fit and strategic alignment
• Build and maintain a structured global partner intelligence database.

Partner Origination & Engagement

• Identify, prioritize and engage target partners in each geography
• Lead senior-level partner discussions, positioning company as the platform of record
• Design partnership value propositions that are compelling, defensible and scalable

Commercial Structuring & Deal Execution

• Lead end-to-end partnership transactions, including:
• Commercial model design
• Pricing and revenue-share structures
• Procurement and onboarding processes 
• Contract negotiation and execution
• Work closely with Sales, Product and Operations to ensure ecosystem delivery supports client growth and retention

Experience & Qualifications

• Senior experience in partnerships, ecosystem development or commercial strategy within:
• Financial service
• Capital markets
• Fintech or platform businesses
• Demonstrated track record of structuring and closing complex commercial partnerships
• Experience operating across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments
• Strong understanding of employee share plans, equity compensation or adjacent financial market services (highly advantageous)
• Proven ability to operate independently in ambiguous, research-heavy environments

Attributes

• Highly commercial, with strong deal judgement and negotiation capability
• Strategically minded but execution-focused
• Comfortable owning outcomes across the full partnership lifecycle
• Credible with senior stakeholders, partners and internal leadership
• Structured, disciplined and resilient in long-cycle, multi-stakeholder negotiations